Donald Trump’s name is now permanently etched on the outside of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. This amendment comes after a contentious 11-10 vote to rename the beloved cultural landmark. The center is now officially titled “The Donald J Trump and the John F Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts,” a decision that has drawn sharp criticism from members of the Kennedy family and other observers.
For the renaming, they also put up new metal lettering on the building’s facade. This would be the first time in U.S. history that a national institution has been named after a sitting president. This displacement has been consistent with Trump’s larger second-term agenda to attack cultural institutions that begun nearly two years ago. Earlier this year, he made himself the chairman of the center’s board, made up of members he handpicked himself.
The Kennedy Center was established as a “living memorial” to President John F. Kennedy, assassinated in 1963. The board’s decision has caused a firestorm with members of the Kennedy family, most notably Kerry Kennedy and Joe Kennedy III. For one, they contend that changing the center’s name negates its purpose by dismissing its history and its path devoted to preserving JFK’s legacy.
“The Kennedy Center was named by law. To change the name would require a revision of that 1964 law.” – Ray Smock
Kerry Kennedy, who’s been understandably furious about the matter, has vowed to strip Trump’s name from the building as soon as he leaves office.
“Three years and one month from today, I’m going to grab a pickax and pull those letters off that building, but I’m going to need help holding the ladder. Are you in?” – Kerry Kennedy
As former Congressman Joe Kennedy III put it, that center cannot be renamed no matter how much public opinion shifts, because the center must not be renamable. He stated, “no matter what anyone says.”
In response to this renaming, Trump tweeted his sincerest amazement, calling the move “too woke.” He stated, “Today, we proudly unveil the updated exterior designation – honoring the leadership of President Donald J Trump and the enduring legacy of John F Kennedy,” according to a statement from The Kennedy Center.
To change the name of such a well-known and longstanding institution calls into question her commitment to honoring historical precedent. The Kennedy Center, like the Lincoln Memorial, was named posthumously in honor of a revered U.S. leader, making this change particularly unprecedented.
